History of Tiger Gym International by Master Brian Edmondson
In 1975 I was living and working in the Sultanate of Brunei, One evening during the monsoon season, having been into Bandar Sen Begawan for dinner, and driving home to Berakas, through torrential rain which forced me to pull into the side of the road, I saw a group of about 30 people wearing white suits doing some kind of training in an open sided ground floor space in the Pusat Belia (youth centre). Wondering what was going on I decided to take a closer look, and so gathering my bamboo umbrella I ran from the car into the building and made my way to where these people were.
As I got closer, I saw they where doing exercises and I stood on the side and watched. The floor was of mosaic tilling and was wet, with large puddles in many places, but this did not seem to deter them from jumping around, etc. The person who seemed to be in charge and telling them what to do was a very fierce looking Korean gentleman who demonstrated every move and was the most impressive person I've ever seen. This was my first meeting with the (then) Master Han Eung Kyo. The lesson progressed and I saw sparring, formations, kicking, punching, etc and ended with a free fighting session, where everyone fought each other for 2 minutes in rotation. At the end of the lesson, after all the formalities of bowing and saluting were completed, I waited for the opportunity to approach the instructor and introduce myself. I asked what they were doing and I was told "Tang Soo Do". I said I was very interested but that I wasn't sure if it was open to an "Orang Puteh" (white man) as I didn't see any there but that I would like to join the class. After finding out all the details it was agreed that I would start 2-4-6 (tues-thurs-sat) on the following Tuesday. |
When the time arrived I was very eager to begin but also quite nervous. My command of the Malay language (Bahasa Melayu) which was spoken was not that good, but fortunately Master Han spoke excellent English. It also transpired that English was one of the common languages spoken, as the majority of students where Chinese and of many and varied dialects, who could not understand each other except in English or Malay. One of the Black Belts began teaching me the basics of Tang Soo Do and I thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, although because of the humidity I had to ring out my t-shirt a few times. On my second lesson it was raining heavily and at one point I slipped and fell over. Master Han with a tone which I later grew to recognise and admire said something along the lines of "Get up not time yet to rest. Martial Artist must have balance, even on wet tiles". I trained three nights weekly and went through my junior upgrading tests, each included breaking, something that I had never attempted previously and which I was very proud to do, but after a year or so I wanted more and began to travel to another location one night a week, enabling me to train more. |
By the time I had reached senior brown and got the brown edging to my do-bok, I was physically very fit and truly committed and dedicated to Tang Soo Do, and to Grandmaster Han, who I believe is the best instructor I have ever met, who always has time to speak to even the most junior of students and has thorough knowledge of Tang Soo Do and other arts. By now my son Leslie, then aged eight and my daughter Ann had also started to attend lessons, plus another couple of Europeans and their children, so I was no longer the only "Orang Puteh". Leslie and Ann took to Tang Soo Do well, but Ann who was sometime away in Singapore at school missed out on gradings.
About this time I began to regard Master Han not only as an instructor but as a friend and would visit his house as he and his family would visit mine for meals etc, I learned that he was born in 1940, he was the first Tang Soo Do instructor to gain a University degree in Physical Education. However his knowledge never ceased to astound me when he would explain to me the human body, pressure points etc and he has, on more than one occasion, used his acupuncture needles on me to enable him to straighten a broken/dislocated finger etc.
Once I had gained my Black Belt (No 20531 - Moo Duk Kwan under Grandmaster Hwang Kee), I again wanted more and was able to arrange training sessions in barracks two mornings a week, so by this time I was training 2 mornings and 4 evenings, six times a week, the soles of my feet were as leather as I walked on tarmac, concrete and sand bare foot at temperatures of up to 100°c. Master Han was then contracted to teach the "Royal Brunei Malay Regiment" soldiers on a regular basis and I would attend and assist. By the time I was ready to leave Brunei I had achieved my second Dan, Leslie had just graded to Black Belt and I was very very proud.
About this time I began to regard Master Han not only as an instructor but as a friend and would visit his house as he and his family would visit mine for meals etc, I learned that he was born in 1940, he was the first Tang Soo Do instructor to gain a University degree in Physical Education. However his knowledge never ceased to astound me when he would explain to me the human body, pressure points etc and he has, on more than one occasion, used his acupuncture needles on me to enable him to straighten a broken/dislocated finger etc.
Once I had gained my Black Belt (No 20531 - Moo Duk Kwan under Grandmaster Hwang Kee), I again wanted more and was able to arrange training sessions in barracks two mornings a week, so by this time I was training 2 mornings and 4 evenings, six times a week, the soles of my feet were as leather as I walked on tarmac, concrete and sand bare foot at temperatures of up to 100°c. Master Han was then contracted to teach the "Royal Brunei Malay Regiment" soldiers on a regular basis and I would attend and assist. By the time I was ready to leave Brunei I had achieved my second Dan, Leslie had just graded to Black Belt and I was very very proud.
Grand Master Han came to England and assisted me in putting on a display at Bicester, near Oxford, where I was to be living and was able to arrange accommodation for the Brunei team attending the UKTSD Federation competition at Watford. Master Han had authorised me Instructor under his authority and I opened my first club in 1979, as a member of the UKTSD Federation under Master Lee Kang Uk. Myself and some of my students would travel to Watford once a month to attend Mr. Lee's Lessons.
When all the problems began in Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan, and different instructors/masters began to set themselves up as Grandmasters, Master Han stayed a member of the Moo Duk Kwan until 1992, when it became increasingly difficult to remain the same. Master Han formed his own organisation, the TGI (Tiger Gym International). The history of TGI is that in the "olden days" in Korea, instructors would challenge each other and the winner take over the class/gym. Master Han was one of the main fighters of Grandmaster Hwang Kee and he named him the Tiger. The first class Master Han opened in Seoul, Korea was the Tiger Gym at which Grandmaster Hwang Kee attended and appointed it. (See Gallery). |
The practice in those early days was that some of the Black Belts were nominated by Grandmaster Hwang Kee to go to various other countries to spread the teachings of Tang Soo Do and so in 1972 Grandmaster Hwang Kee asked Master Han to go to Malaysia/Brunei to assist Master Lee Kang Uk, and soon after Master Lee Kang Uk was sent To UK to form the UK Tang Soo Do Federation, leaving Master Han as the chief instructor Malaysia/Brunei, where he was to stay for many years. During this time he organised the Malaysian Championships and visits to other countries. Also during his time here he hosted a visit to Malaysia and Brunei by Grandmaster Hwang Kee.
On the web site you will see a number of photographs which are unique and irreplaceable, I have tried to put some explanation or notes to show the main persons but unfortunately I don't know them all.
If you see someone you know that I haven’t identified, then please e-mail me the details and I will try to have those details added, obviously bearing in mind that these details should be relevant to Tang Soo Do or other Martial Arts. Since its formation in 1992 the Tiger Gym has retained the traditional principles and teachings of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan, and has resisted the introduction of other Hyungs (formations), such as the Chil Sun Hyungs.
On occasions, when attending other Tang Soo Do associations competitions, and entered for formations, we have been told that the formation which we were about to perform was "not recognised" and could not be judged by their judges, therefore we were asked to choose alternate formations which were known. All the formations that TGI learn and teach are original, traditional Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Forms, therefore how they cannot be recognised I am at a loss to understand.
On the web site you will see a number of photographs which are unique and irreplaceable, I have tried to put some explanation or notes to show the main persons but unfortunately I don't know them all.
If you see someone you know that I haven’t identified, then please e-mail me the details and I will try to have those details added, obviously bearing in mind that these details should be relevant to Tang Soo Do or other Martial Arts. Since its formation in 1992 the Tiger Gym has retained the traditional principles and teachings of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan, and has resisted the introduction of other Hyungs (formations), such as the Chil Sun Hyungs.
On occasions, when attending other Tang Soo Do associations competitions, and entered for formations, we have been told that the formation which we were about to perform was "not recognised" and could not be judged by their judges, therefore we were asked to choose alternate formations which were known. All the formations that TGI learn and teach are original, traditional Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan Forms, therefore how they cannot be recognised I am at a loss to understand.